Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos is gearing up for a rapturous North East homecoming when his chart-topping band play in Newcastle this weekend.

The quartet perform at the Metro Radio Arena this Sunday - the group's first return to the region since they played Northumbria University in October last year - and Alex, who grew up in Washington, has invited the whole brood to cheer him on.

Speaking exclusively to the Chronicle, he said: "My gran, aunt, uncle and all my cousins still live in the North East and they're all going to be at the arena this weekend.

"I might not have lived up here for a good few years, but it will always be special to me. Having all my family there will make it feel even more like a home crowd."

Alex's father, John Kapranos, moved to the North East from Greece as a child. He adopted the surname Huntley which Alex also used until his pop career took off.

Alex's mother, Christine Taylor, was born and bred in South Shields. She and John attended the girls and boys grammar schools in the town. Alex, now 33, and his younger brother Phillip went to Redby Junior and Infant School in Sunderland before moving with their parents to Scotland in the early 1980s.

They spent time in Edinburgh where sister Christine was born before settling in Glasgow.

But despite the fact Alex has spent most of his life North of the border, he has fond memories of the North East. And he admits people are fascinated by the North East twang in his otherwise Scottish accent.

"My mum and dad both have Geordie accents so I think it's kind of stuck with me," he said. "But I do get quite a few comments.

"Even though I moved away when I was 10, I've always come back to visit family. I've had some great holidays in South Shields. Whenever I'm back I like to go have a bit of a wander around.

"I'm looking forward to spending a bit of free time with the family. The beach at South Shields is fantastic and has a lot of happy memories for me."

He doesn't have time to follow football as often as he'd like, but Alex admits to being a closet Sunderland fan. "My best ever childhood Christmas present was a Sunderland top. I was about nine and I thought it was brilliant."

Over the last two years, Alex and bandmates Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson have taken the music industry by storm with hit singles such as Take Me Out, Matinee and Do You Want To. New single Walk Away is out on December 5. They are on tour to promote second album You Could Have It So Much Better.